LINKIN PARK SINGER BED RIDDEN
Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington is in an LA hospital having been struck down with back and abdominal pain  doctors are still trying to ascertain what the cause is. With Bennington incapacitated, Linkin Park have cancelled 12 European shows between 7 Jun and 23 Jun, and postponed plans regarding video shoots. We'll update you when we get more.

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METALLICA'S ONLINE BID TO PROMPT ALBUM SALES
Metallica are to offer hours of music to fans via www.metallicavault.com. In association with Seattle based internet company Speakeasy, the band will offer live recordings, demos, b-sides and full-length concert footage for free to anyone who purchases the band's new album, 'St. Anger'. Each bought copy of the album will have a passcode on the sleeve that allows the punter to access the 66 free tracks. All in all, fans are getting a good deal - the album already comes with more than 70 minutes of music and a DVD of all the songs from the disc being played live in the studio.

The news is perhaps more surprisingly because Metallica haven't been too pro-downloading in the past and they famously sued Napster. Drummer Lars Ulrich explains: "We've always wanted our fans to experience our music online. But up until now, the existing distribution methods have not passed the kind of quality standards our fans have come to expect from us. We want the music that will be accessed on www.metalllicavault.com to be the best of the best available on the Internet."

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REVIEW: Adam Green - Friends of Mine (Rough Trade)
What on Earth has happened here? Adam Green, of Moldy Peaches fame, must have finally turned 14, 'cos he's gone and made a 'proper' album. And bleeding heck it's lovely; Burt Bacharach sung by Lou Reed, with sweeping, swelling orchestra and twisted campfire singalongs. Of course, Adam still manages to rhyme 'Everyone's talking about Jesus' with 'Everyone's fucking my princess', but all the while the accompaniment is grandiose and romantic. Most amazingly of all, Green still somehow manages to make these filmic epics weigh in at two minutes each, and by the second listen you'll be singing along with the title track without even realisi! ng it. This writer loves Moldy Peaches to death, but can fully understand how others might find their crass lyrics and no-fi production as annoying as a genital rash. This, then, is the antithesis of those values (well, there are still a few crass lyrics) and stands a stronger album for it. That and the varied tones of the songs makes 'Friends of Mine' the sort of album you can glue into your CD player for weeks on end, and should see Adam into the mainstream success that Moldy Peaches could never be eligible for. DR
Release date: 23 Jun
Press Contact: Cool Delta [CP, CR] Rough Trade IH [RP, RR, NP, NR]

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FLEADH FESTIVAL CANCELLED
Mean Fiddler have pulled this year's London Fleadh Festival the annual Irish music festival - because they were unable to book enough big acts. The event that has taken place every year since 1990 has seen the likes of Van Morrison, Christy Moore, the Pogues, and the Dubliners perform in the past.

MD Melvin Benn told reporters: "We've put it on ice for this year. We just haven't seen a headliner out there to build a festival around in a manner that we'd be pleased with. There's a lot of Irish talent bubbling under, a lot of extremely good, solid Irish stuff, but it's the headliners we were short of and it was the headliners we were worried about."

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MURDER INC MAN GETS TIME
Murder Inc associate Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff has been sentenced to 37 months in prison on a federal gun charge after pleading guilty. The court told him that he could be facing even more time if any of the other charges against him get to trial. The sentencing comes amid claims that McGriff was laundering money through the label, and even allegations that he was involved in the shooting of 50 Cent in 2000 and the murder of Dwayne Thomas, 31, and Karon Russell Clarrett, 28, in Baltimore a year later.

The court heard an IRS special agent detail evidence that federal investigators and attorneys believe McGriff was linked to Murder Inc and its boss Irving Lorenzo (alias Irv Gotti). They claim that McGriff aided Gotti in starting Murder Inc with moneys earned through drug trafficking, that he was the true owner of the company, not Gotti, and that the label was used to launder the drug money.

Although McGriff was convicted on drug conspiracy charges in 1987 believing him to be the head of the Queens-based drug cartel 'the Supreme Team', no charges have yet been filed against Gotti or McGriff with regard to money laundering.

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TIMBERLAKES HOT TICKETS
Tickets for Justin Timberlake's upcoming UK tour in December apparently sold out in hours, at a rate of 14 tickets per second. By 9:45 of the morning that they went on sale (24 May) 86,000 tickets had sold. 130,000 went in 2 1ž2 hours. As a result, extra dates have been added to Birmingham, London and Manchester.

DOORS REUNION TOUR STILL ON JUST
More the fated Doors reunion. Former Police drummer Stewart Copeland who was drumming for the reformed Doors until he fell out with original members Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger has come to an amicable compromise. Copeland sued the band for breach of contract, alleging that the pair broke a promise to use him during the tour and on an upcoming studio album. But all parties have now reached a settlement.

Manzarek currently touring with Kreiger and a new band as The Doors of the 21st Century said, "We're glad we were able to resolve this matter, and we wish Stewart all the success in the future."

Original Doors drummer John Densmore, who also sued Manzerek and Krieger, claiming they used the Doors name without his permission is, from what we hear, still very much aggrieved.

Stage details and running orders for the new additions are yet to be announced.

The highlights of the festival include performances from The Polyphonic Spree, Blur, The White Stripes, Metallica and Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

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SYSTEM OF A DOWN MAN STARTS LABEL
System of a Down's guitarist/writer/producer, Daron Malakian, has launched a new label called EatUrMusic. He has a deal with Sony Music to distribute the label's output.

Commenting on the label he told reporters: "I honestly feel that if you're going to sign an artist the most important thing is that you've really got to be like one of those kids in their audience. With that in mind Donnie Lenner, [President of Sony Music US] and I agreed that I will only sign and work with those artists that I'm a fan of."

EatUrMusic will be the next home of Amen, who were formerly with Roadrunner and Virgin, and Malakian will produce their next album. "I'm proud that Amen is my first signing. "Casey [Chaos] is the Iggy Pop of my generation. He's creating his art and his music on his own terms, and I'm very happy that I have an outlet to support that."

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MORPHEUS CREATORS IN COURT AGAIN
File-sharing network Morpheus is being sued by the majors again after a previous copyright infringement lawsuit was delayed by technical difficulties.

To overcome those problems the labels have taken their new case to a federal court in Nashville, where Morpheus owners Streamcast is based. A legal expert said: "The legal term for this is 'forum shopping. You get a bad decision someplace, so you go someplace else. They're filing in a place where music is important, where they've got a good chance of getting a sympathetic decision."

The RIAA said: "This is another step in our ongoing litigation against Streamcast, a company that we believe is responsible for widespread copyright infringement."

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TEMPLE PILOT'S SINGER PLEADS NOT GUILTY
Following the arrest last week of Stone Temple Pilots lead singer Scott Weiland after a police officer found drugs in his car, the rocker has entered his plea of 'not guilty' to charges of possession of heroin and cocaine. He is due back in court 11 Jul after being posted bail at $10,000.

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EMINEM ON TV TOO?
Sources at US cable network HBO have said that Eminem could soon be starring in his own TV show.

It is proposed that the show  for which the star would be worth £1.5m per episode - would be "controversial and raunchy", and that Eminem, would play a character similar to himself -- a "filthy rich rap star from the wrong side of the tracks."

With a working title of 'Rap' a pilot script is already written. It is understood that HBO are hoping that the show will replace Sex and the City, which finishes this season.

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REVIEW: Truby Trio  Elevator Music (Compost)
This is how dance albums are supposed to be. 15 tracks of varying tempos and beat-densities, loads of instruments, inspired collaborations; all drawing from a myriad of influences to create something that furthers the genre and makes you want to dance. And Rainer Truby, Roland Appel and Christian Prommer (the latter two being Voom:voom and Fauna Flash) have done precisely this. The only constant through the album is its danceability  everything else is different: the tempos (whether downbeat or uptempo) the rhythms (whether brazilian, broken or 4/4) and the instruments (any you could name in use here) make for a rich and accessible longplayer. This is before even mentioning Wunmi, Marcus Begg and Scotalnd's No. one soul brother, Joseph Malik. Just flabergastingly wonderful. JG
Release date: 2 Jun
Press Contact: Zzonked

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STARS LOBBY EU FOR REDUCED CD COSTS
More than 1,200 international stars including Elton John, Johnny Hallyday, Françoise Hardy, Julio Iglesias and Chris de Burgh have signed a petition being presented to the EU calling them to cut VAT on CDs - currently set between 15% and 25% depending on the country.

To be presented in Brussels on Tuesday, the petition requests that music to be classed in line with other cultural products such as books, newspapers and theatre tickets, which have reduced VAT rates.

Callier, from the band Hooverphonic, told reporters: " When someone buys a biography of Jacques Brel in Belgium he pays a VAT rate of 6%, but if he buys a CD of his music he has to pay 21%. This makes no sense and does not recognise the cultural role of musical artists."

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STONES SUPPORT BAND DENY FASCIST LINKS
Boehse Onkelz (Evil Uncles), the German band booked to support the Rolling Stones on their world tour date in Hanover on 8 Aug, have denied being racist or having links to the far right, saying that they had severed any connections with possible fascist elements almost 20 years ago.

The band's bassist, Stephan Weidner, added that since they had recorded the racist 'Turks Out' in 1980, they had written anti-fascist songs and arranged concerts against neo-Nazism.
The Stones who were not aware of the booking are considering dropping them from the concert after hearing of their reputation.

Weidner said the band's followers were mainstream rock fans, adding, "We never played for fascist parties and were never members of a fascist or right-wing party."

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JAZZ FM CLEARED OF BREACH OF CONTRACT
Radio watchdogs have cleared Jazz FM of breaching the terms of its licence by playing too much soul and R&B and not enough jazz.

Fifteen complaints prompted an investigation of the station - which relaunched earlier this year. The complaints said that it was playlisting pop acts such as U2 and Gabrielle, and had moved too far away from its Jazz promise. Jazz's licence says that "at least half the music during daytime must sit well with the label 'jazz'. The rest will be drawn from, and fully reflect, the broader soul, blues, and R&B categories."

The Radio Authority investigation  conducted between 28 Feb and 4 Apr 2002 - concluded that Jazz FM was meeting the requirements set out in its station format. John Simons from the station's owner Guardian Media Group said he was "delighted" the radio authority had not found his company guilty of any breach of format.

Guardian Media Group, the stations new owners, tried to broaden the station's appeal to a wider audience. While the relaunch has helped the station build its listenership many avid jazz fans have been disappointed.

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CUBAN BROTHERS HIT THE BIG TIME
They sing, they breakdance, they DJ, they MC  and they're actually Scottish. Rising crazy kitsch party hosts, the Cuban Brothers have landed a deal with MTV.

The pair, who have already presented a Homelands special for MTV Dance  as well as appearing at Madonna's birthday party - have signed an exclusive development deal with MTV. The deal will see them working on their own show. MTV were so keen to get the two on board that they made the rare move of signing them in advance of a show even being written, to keep other channels from getting them first.